On February 14, the Armenian Apostolic Church will celebrate Candlemass. His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, announced this das as a blessing day for newlyweds.
After the Divine Liturgy, a special order of blessing of newlyweds will be made in all churches.
Archbishop Aram Ateshian (left) has been creating obstacles for Istanbul Patriarchate Lcoum Tenens Archbishop Karekin Bekdjian (right)
BY RAFFI BEDROSYAN
The never-ending manipulations and power games at the Istanbul Patriarchate took a turn for the worse this week.
In 2008, the Istanbul Patriarch Archbishop Mesrob Mutafyan had suffered an incurable dementia disease, incapacitating him into a vegetative state. The cleric next in line at the Patriarchate, Archbishop Aram Ateshian was appointed the Acting Patriarch at that time, with the expectations that unless Patriarch Mutafyan recovers miraculously, elections should be held to decide a successor. For the past nine years, Acting Patriarch Ateshian resisted all attempts of the Istanbul Armenian community, other Patriarchate clerics and even the Echmiadzin Catholicosate, to hold the elections. Finally in March 2017, Arch. Ateshian relented the Religious Council of the Patriarchate to start the election process, which elected Archbishop Bekjian from the Diocese of Germany as ‘locum tenens’, a caretaker cleric until a new Patriarch is elected to replace the ailing Patriarch Mutafyan and the Acting Patriarch Ateshian. Both Ateshian and Bekdjian were supposed to be candidates in the elections, along with four other eligible clerics.
But now, following a meeting with the Turkish Minister of Interior and a letter received from the Istanbul Governor, the Religious Council of the Istanbul Patriarchate has declared that there will be no elections and Arch. Ateshian will continue serving as Acting Patriarch until Patriarch Mutafyan dies. Arch. Bekdjian has resigned and is on his way back to Germany. How is all this possible?
It is possible because Arch. Ateshian is a favourite of the Turkish government and the Turkish government returns the favour by calling null and void the election process and the selection of the ‘so called or alleged’ locum tenens caretaker Arch. Bekjian to oversee the election process, even though these are all spelled out in the legal authority of the Istanbul Patriarchate and the Lausanne Treaty defining the legal rights of the minorities to freely elect their religious leaders. But however the government, or more appropriately, the leader of the government President Erdogan interprets the laws, that is what counts. Arch. Ateshian is ‘proud to call President Erdogan as my brother’. Arch. Ateshian was a fierce critic of Germany for passing the Armenian Genocide resolution in June 2016. Arch. Ateshian wished Erdogan success in starting the Afrin invasion in Syria, killing Kurdish (and some Armenian) civilians. It is natural that the Turkish government will interfere to the benefit of an Armenian religious leader so much in line with its priorities.
I have had two occasions to communicate directly with Arch. Ateshian. First was when I planned to give a concert at the newly reconstructed Surp Giragos Armenian Church in Diyarbakir, during the Centenial Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide in April 2015. As part of the concert program, in addition to my piano performance of Armenian composers, I had proposed to invite a well-known Armenian and a Kurdish opera singer to present songs of Komitas, a noted victim of the Genocide. Arch. Ateshian opposed the idea of the concert in ‘his church’ and suggested that I hold the concert somewhere else in Diyarbakir. At the end, the concert did take place in the church of course, in the presence of more than a thousand attendees, including elected officials, local Kurds and Turks, but most significantly, hundreds of hidden Armenians. Instead of the two singers, I ended up playing the Komitas works in the church myself, so meaningful and symbolic, hundred years after the Genocide. The other occasion was when my friends and I approached him about the subject of the thousands of abandoned Armenian churches in Turkey. For a few years in the early 2010’s, there was a window of opportunity by an apparently liberalized Turkish government to allow return and reconstruction of Armenian churches. The reconstruction of Surp Giragos Church is one example, even though the situation has dramatically worsened in the past two years. But earlier on, there was some willingness by the government to return or restore Armenian churches, as our cultural heritage in Anatolia. We even had discussions with government officials on specific churches in Van, Sivas and Malatya.
Unfortunately, Arch. Ateshian turned down these attempts by stating:’ I (meaning the Patriarchate) cannot even take care of the Armenian churches in Istanbul, what do I need to have more churches in Anatolia?’ I am not sure whether to call this line of thinking shortsightedness or toeing the line in the eyes of the state. But my intention is not to blame Arch. Ateshian or the Turkish government that sees him as their man. I would like to focus on the attitude of the Istanbul Armenian community and more specifically, its non-religious leaders, who are the elected leaders of dozens of charitable organizations attached to the Istanbul Armenian churches, schools and hospitals. The charitable organizations are all supposed to be under the control of the Istanbul Patriarchate and act in unison, with the wealthier foundations owning large assets supposed to help the less fortunate foundations. But this rarely happens, and as long as there is no interference from the Patriarchate, most of the leaders, with a few exceptions, treat the charitable organizations as their own personal empire without much consideration for the overall benefit of the community. The community itself is deeply divided, apathetic or unable to voice any protest, except for a few young intellectuals gathered around the Agos daily and a few progressive NGOs.
After what happened this week at the Patriarchate, one would expect the community to organize and take some protest actions against the unilateral takeover by Arch. Ateshian. A possible protest action could have been boycotting the church where religious services were to be conducted by Arch. Ateshian and instead attend church services at other Armenian churches. But the church where he delivered mass was full this Sunday and there was only one lonely Armenian lawyer lady among the crowd who dared protest, by singing aloud a prayer “Der Voghormya.” Upon instructions from Arch. Ateshian, she was immediately removed from the church by Turkish police officers and taken to the police station.
As the saying goes, people deserve the leaders they have. While we lament and complain and protest against unfair treatment of Armenians by other nations, we should also recognize our own weaknesses.
The wreckage of the Saratov Airlines’ Antonov An-148 jet
MOSCOW—The names of two Armenians on board a Russian passenger jet that crashed after take off near Moscow on Sunday have been publicized. All 65 passengers were killed.
Sergey Ghambaryan was listed as the co-pilot of the Saratov Airlines’ Antonov An-148 jet that crashed after take-off outside Moscow.
The Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations also published a list of passengers, among whom was Varsik Savoyan.
Russian investigators are searching snow-covered fields near Moscow for clues into the crash. Officials say that weather conditions, human error and technical failure are being investigated as causes for the crash.
Besse Kabak protested Atexhian’s reinstatement during Sunday Mass and was arrested
Parishioner Arrested at Sunday Mass After Protesting Ateshian
ISTANBUL—The latest in the saga of the election of a new leader for the Istanbul Armenian Patriarchate came Friday when the Patriarchate’s religious council decided to go along with the ruling of the Istanbul Governor and reinstate Archbishop Aram Ateshian as the Vicar-General.
The move followed a decision by Turkey’s Interior Ministry delineating the process by which a Patriarch can be elected, as well as a letter by the Istanbul Governor’s office, which rejected the election of Archbishop Karekin Bekdjian as Locum Tenens of the Patriarchate and said there was no need for an election of a new patriarch since Archbishop Mesrob Mutafyan, the current Patriarch, is still alive, despite being incapacitated for almost 10 years due to dementia.
The Patriarchal Religious Council, presided over by its chairman, Bishop Sahak Mashalian, met Friday and reinstated Ateshian to his post, which he was forced to vacate after last spring’s election of the Locum Tenens. Archbishop Bekdjian did not attend the meeting
The Religious Council decided, according to reports published in Zhamank Daily, the Patriarchate must adhere to the decisions made by the Interior Ministry and return to the status before the October 26, 2016 meeting, which decided on the process to elect a new Patriarch.
The intervention by the state has angered many in the Istanbul Armenian community who believe that their abilities to elect a leader of the church has been severely curtailed.
One such community member is Besse Kabak who chose to voice her protest against the situation and Ateshian during Sunday Mass at a church in Istanbul being presided over by Ateshian.
Kabak, an Armenian scholar, stood up and began reciting “Der Voghormya—Lord Have Mercy” with a bible in her hand. This act was in direct protest to Ateshian’s non-constructive role in the patriarchal election process.
Local police took Kabak into custody, dragging her from the church. She was released an hour later after the conclusion of Sunday Mass.
Bulgarian President Rumen Radev (left) in Yerevan with President Serzh Sarkisian
YEREVAN—President Serzh Sarkisian on Monday said he did not see prospects for resolving the Karabakh conflict adding that “Azerbaijan does not seem willing to resolve the issue.”
Sarkisian was speaking at a joint press conference with his Bulgarian counterpart Rumen Radev who is on an official visit to Armenia.
Sarkisian said “Baku has had a number of opportunities in the past to resolve the Karabkh conflict in a peaceful way, but because of its actions today we can only speak about lost opportunities.”
“The Karabakh conflict can be solved only in the event when Azerbaijan backs down from its maximalist, unrealistic expectations from negotiation results,” he said.
“There can be no hope for a solution as long as Azerbaijan advocates invading Zangezur or Yerevan,” Sarkisian said referring to recent remarks by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who promised his people that Azerbaijan will one day reclaim the aforementioned cities as party of its historic territory.
Sarkisian thanked Radev for Bulgaria’s continued support for a peaceful resolution to the Karabakh conflict and for what he called “a balanced position” on the matter.
“Bulgaria has always had a clear position on the issue: the conflict can be resolved, without exception, through the mediation of the OSCE Minsk Group and with support from the European Union. It’s very important for the presidents of the two countries to uphold active dialogue based on reason. Bulgaria, as President of the Council of Europe, supports the implementation of this position,” said Sarkisian.
Bulgaria’s President Rumen Radev lays a wreath at Dzidzernagapert on Monday
Radev arrived in Armenia on Monday and as part of his itinerary visited the Dzidzernagapert memorial monument. He was accompanied by Armenia’s Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and Yerevan Mayor Taron Margaryan. They were greeted at the complex by the acting director of the Armenian Genocide Museum and Institute Gevorg Vardanyan.
The Bulgarian President laid a wreath at the memorial to the victims of the Armenian Genocide and paid tribute to their memory with a moment of silence. He then visited the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute, where he was briefed on the details of the first genocide of the 20th century.
Radev left a note in the memory book, after which he was presented with a gold medal by Vardanyan. The Bulgarian president also planted a fir tree in the Memorial Alley.
Following talks with Sarkisian and a visit to the Tumo Center for Creative Technologies a state dinner was held at the Presidential Palace in Radev’s honor.
YEREVAN. – An unnecessary concentration of power in the hands of the prime minister is taking place in Armenia.
Nikol Pashinyan, head of the opposition “Way Out” Faction of the National Assembly of Armenia, expressed such a view at Monday’s parliamentary briefings.
As per Pashinyan, this situation may create very major political problems for Armenia and its future development.
“This is of great concern to me,” he added, in particular.
And when asked by reporters whether, considering the powers and privileges which the next prime minister of Armenia will have, the next president can change anything in the country—especially since the presidential candidate has been nominated from the ruling party, the opposition faction’s leader responded that presidential candidate nominee—serving ambassador to UK—Armen Sarkissian is making demonstrative statements.
“And let’s see how the reality will be,” added Nikol Pashinyan. “At any rate, our position basically will not change from that.”
He is there at the invitation of his colleague Serge Sargsian. The prospects for developing bilateral relations between the two countries will be discussed, according to the Bulgarian National Television.
It is expected that agreements will be signed to protect classified information, regulate labor migration and cooperation in the field of information technologies, as well as a cultural exchange program between Armenia and Bulgaria.
In Armenia, the ICRC focuses on civilians living in exposed communities along the international border, missing people and their families, mine victims and people deprived of their liberty.
We also spread knowledge of the international humanitarian law among national authorities, academics and armed forces. Our key partner is the Armenian Red Cross Society (ARCS) with whom we coordinate activities aimed at assisting people affected by the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
In 2017, we prioritized two villages in the border region of Tavush, where socioeconomic situations are particularly challenging. Through a detailed survey, the ICRC and local Red Cross volunteers identified 57 vulnerable households who then received financial assistance to start small-scale businesses. Additionally, we provided multipurpose cash assistance to 19 extremely vulnerable families. We supported three border communities through rehabilitation of water supply pipelines, building of metal fencing for a water reservoir, and installation of technical components. We continued to construct safer spaces, wall in exposed windows and build protective walls for kindergartens, schools and other public buildings.
Part of this work was done thanks to the ICRC's new partnership with the ARCS and the German Red Cross.
Highlights of our work in Armenia in 2017
• 1,545 people restored or improved their access to water with the ICRC support for upgrading of water supply networks.
• 1,131 individuals benefited from reduced exposure to conflict-related hazards due to safer rooms, protective walls and closing-in of windows.
• 537 schoolchildren and 60 teachers were briefed about safer behaviour to adopt in case of shooting or shelling, as well as danger of mines and first aid basics.
• 315 people (76 households) in two border communities benefited from increased family income due to participation of a family member in projects, or received cash grants for immediate needs.
• 500 relatives of missing people were offered psychological support and problem-solving counselling.
• 205 members of the Armenian civil protection rescue service in ten border communities received first aid training and first aid kits.
For more information please read our overview of activities in 2017.